Mohamed Ali Latifi - Tunisia
The Tunisian security forces stormed the headquarters of the private television channel Nessma to book their equipment and broadcast a wide controversy, in which the political side of the political mix was mixed. As the channel described the decision as unjust and unprecedented and an attempt to silence its voice criticizing the government, others saw it as a procedure in place and comes in accordance with the law.
The intervention came in response to a decision by the High Commission for Audiovisual Communication (HAIKA) to shut down the channel, based in Rades, on the southern outskirts of Tunis, for broadcasting without legal licenses.
The position of rights activists and organizations differed between defending the rights of expression and the need to enforce the law. Others questioned the closure of Nessma channel and the exclusion of other television channels that were expected to be covered by the closure decision due to the non-settlement of their legal status. Broadcast is not.
The remarks of the President of the Republic, Nuri al-Lajmi, led to sharp criticism that considered that Zaytouna's private channel also operates outside the law, and that "the failure to implement the decision to close it is due to a political support that prevents its implementation."
Political analysts said the decision to close Nessma by force was a cold war between its owner Nabil al-Qarawi and Prime Minister Yusuf al-Shahid.
Al-Qarawi is one of the most prominent businessmen who supported incumbent President Baiji Kaid al-Sibsi in his campaign in 2014.
Proactive War
Activists believe that the decision to close Nesma comes as part of a preemptive war between Hafez Qaid al-Sabsi, the son of the president and the witness in the elections scheduled for the end of this year, asserting that Nabil al-Qarawi is a pawn in the chessboard to support Sabsi's son.
Nabil al-Qarawi confirmed that the decision of the "Haika" came because he did not bow to the dictates of the Party of Long live Tunisia, which is the witness, pointing out that his channel has licenses and that the problem relates to the wording of changing the company's contract, as he put it.
On the other hand, the head of the Haikka refuted his talk to Al Jazeera Net political motives behind the detention of equipment broadcast Nesma, stressing that the arrest came after the Haika had met all the legal methods and all attempts, but the channel operators did not comply with the application of the law, adding that no one above the law .
Haika said earlier that the channel had become illegal - after the TRA withdrew last year's license - but the channel said it did not recognize the agency's decisions.
Broad controversy
The activists of the social networking sites split between supporters of the closure decision, especially after the news of the intention of the owner to run for the upcoming presidential elections, and those who refused to rally in front of the channel to denounce the closure, especially those who benefited from the campaign of donations by villagers to the poor.
The member of the democratic stream (opposition) Hossam Hammadi in a Facebook post that the owner of the channel exploited the feelings of Tunisians and the poor in a charity program broadcast by the channel entitled "Khalil Tunisia" to raise funds, in order to win the votes of the disadvantaged in preparation for the election race.
The activist Habib Al-Hadari accused another channel owner of instigating chaos and inciting people to demonstrate in solidarity with the channel, commenting on the label calling on the channel Nesma followers to exit the street from all sides.
The journalists divided themselves in solidarity with their colleagues and defenders of freedom of information on the one hand, and between defenders of the law on the other. The journalist on the site of "facts on the Internet" Marwa al-Deridi in a post, it is unreasonable to exploit the villagers workers and journalists who did not pay their wages And to expel them from work, to defend the canal and use them as human shields.
On the other hand, the journalist Ahmad Al-Fergi expressed his solidarity with his colleagues in the channel, pointing out that this decision will lead to the cutting of the livelihood of more than four hundred journalists, while journalist Wafaa Trabelsi described the decision to close the channel abruptly in a country whose media soldiers thought that its only gain Check is freedom of expression.
Parties' positions
The political parties in Tunisia followed the developments of the closure of the channel with great concern, just a few months before the country was preparing to hold important elections. Political calculations were overshadowed by the reactions of the channel and its son, Hafez Qaid al-Sibsi.
The Nahdha Movement called for holding an extraordinary meeting at the invitation of the head of the movement, Rashid Ghannouchi, to discuss the decision to close and stop broadcasting the channel and examine its possible repercussions on freedom of expression in light of the political strife of the Nesma channel.
In a related context, Tunisia's Prospects Party, the Popular Front and the Tunisian General Union of Labor denounced the decision to forcibly shut down people and seize equipment, expressing their solidarity with the channel and all its workers, especially journalists, technicians and their families who would find themselves without a livelihood.
The Tunisian opposition party Al-Badil said that resorting to the closure of a media institution and the evacuation of its media, employees and employees by force is proof of the failure of the government to manage the political issue and a sign that the current situation on the national political scene threatens serious and undesirable slippages.
For her part, Tunisian Journalists Union (NJT) Nabil Al-Qarawi (the owner of the channel) blamed the situation in the channel, stressing the need to find solutions to ensure respect for the law and prevent the use of this crisis for political and electoral purposes.